Megan Kruse

Learning Through Blogging

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Rachella Dravis

The Human Brain

June 8, 2025 by megankruse

The human brain, the most complex organ in the human body, is amazing in more ways than we could ever imagine.  I am used to spending time learning about the reading brain.  Reading Rockets has put together an excellent resource for understanding the reading brain: What We Know About Reading and the Brain, including this … [Read more…]

Posted in: Collaborative culture, Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Personal Learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Research, Student learning and the profession, Teacher Leader Model Standards, Uncategorized Tagged: amygdala, brain, brain states, brain stem, Dr. Lori Desautels, Dr. Stephen Porges, Iowa Science of Reading Summit, limbic system, Polyvagal Theory, prefrontal cortex, primitive region, Rachella Dravis, Reading Rockets, Rhonda Nelson, The Reading Brain, The Reading League Iowa, Zaner Bloser

Competence, Confidence, and Lessons from the Field

May 25, 2025 by megankruse

Over the last several weeks, I have had the opportunity to support special education teachers and students at the 7th through 12th grade level.  I have learned a ton, and have a ton more to learn! My colleague and dear friend, Rachella, is retiring soon – just four short school days from now.  Yikes!  Although … [Read more…]

Posted in: Assessments and data, Collaborative culture, Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Outreach and collaboration with families and community, Personal Learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Student learning and the profession, Teacher Leader Model Standards, Uncategorized Tagged: behavior, clarity, compentence, confidence, diagnostics, Dr. Mitchell Brookins, EdReports, EDView360, goals, individualized education plans, instructional coaching, Mike Schmoker, public education, Rachella Dravis, special education, Voyager Sopris

Being Wrong

December 15, 2024 by megankruse

One of my favorite all-time quotes, which I reference often, comes from Brené Brown: … and as Mark Manson reminds us in  the title of Chapter 6 in The Subtle Art of Not Giving a #@%!, “You’re Wrong About Everything (But So Am I).”  This entire book has been chalk-full of reminders that I am … [Read more…]

Posted in: Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Personal Learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Research, Teacher Leader Model Standards, Uncategorized Tagged: Amy Numedahl, Brené Brown, confirmation bias, ego, embrace, graphemes, International Dyslexia Association, Jon Gordon, Julie Dohman, Kara Veach, Kate Lamb, Lisa Williams, Mark Manson, One Word Challenge, Papae Wymore, phonemes, phonemic awareness, Rachella Dravis, Reed Haeger, Rhonda Nelson, Schmitz Funeral Home, science of reading, Stephanie Edgren, Sue Haeger, The Reading League, The Reading League Iowa, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a #@%!, Tina Boogren

Navigating Change

September 22, 2024 by megankruse

It is nearing the end of September, and the work remains difficult.  As I’ve written several times since the start of this school year, our district is implementing lots of change.  Lots. via GIPHY We have gone from a four-building district to a two-building district, meaning new grade levels and new staff are housed under … [Read more…]

Posted in: Assessments and data, Collaborative culture, Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Personal Learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Research, Student learning and the profession, Teacher Leader Model Standards, Uncategorized Tagged: Becky Morey, change, Corrine Swigart, embrace, Everything is Figuroutable, FMCSD, George Couros, Jane Santiago, Jenny Herriman, Julie Steele, linds, Lindsay Kemeny, Marie Forleo, Mark C. Perna, Meredith Ireland, PLC's, Rachella Dravis, Solution Tree, Wendy Bailey

Understanding Versus Knowing

September 15, 2024 by megankruse

In Daniel Willingham‘s book, Outsmart Your Brain:  Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make it Easy, he explains:  “‘Knowing’ doesn’t mean being able to understand an explanation; it means being able to explain to others.”  True evidence of learning is having the ability to restate, coherently, what you “know.”  We want to “evaluate … [Read more…]

Posted in: Collaborative culture, Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Student learning and the profession, Teacher Leader Model Standards, Uncategorized Tagged: Becky Morey, Benjamin Franklin, Corrine Swigart, Daniel Willingham, el education, FMCSD, four critical questions, Jane Santiago, Jenny Herriman, Kim Cano, Knowing, Libby Woodfin, Outsmart Your Brain, protocols, Rachella Dravis, Solution Tree, student discourse, Suzanne Nathan Plaut, Understanding, Wendy Bailey, Your Curriculum Companion

Figuring It Out

July 15, 2024 by megankruse

Everything is Figuroutable, and most things worth figuring out take time, hard work, perseverance, and collaboration.  Proof of this very concept has come to light over and over again, including this past week. Collaborating with Coaches Our FMCSD instructional coaching staff was tasked with refining our district’s work around identifying essential standards for social emotional … [Read more…]

Posted in: Collaborative culture, Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Personal Learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Teacher Leader Model Standards, Uncategorized Tagged: Anna Geiger, Becky Morey, Corrine Swigart, Everything is Figuroutable, evidence, FMCSD, Jane Santiago, Jenny Herriman, Jenny Steffensmeier, Kate Winn, Katie Dailey, Rachella Dravis, Reading Road Trip, Reed Haeger, Ross Haeger, structured literacy, Sue Haeger, Wendy Bailey

Systems Coaching 2.0

March 3, 2024 by megankruse

As our school district embarks on “Systems Coaching 2.0” (not the official name, but rather one given by our instructional coaching staff), I am recognizing inevitable resistance.  The resistance is showing up in multiple forms, including passive resistance, outright “This is ridiculous,” comments, refusal to participate in conversations, angry looks and angry exchanges. While I … [Read more…]

Posted in: Assessments and data, Collaborative culture, Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Personal Learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Student learning and the profession, Teacher Leader Model Standards, Uncategorized Tagged: Becky Morey, Corrine Swigart, embrace, FMCSD, George Couros, Jane Santiago, Jason Kennedy, Jenny Herriman, Julie Steele, Rachella Dravis, resistance, systems coaching, Wendy Bailey

Attitude of Gratitude

November 26, 2023 by megankruse

It’s probably a bit too cliché to write about gratitude the week in which we celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving, but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity.  I’m proud to say that I regularly practice an attitude of gratitude, but that attitude was developed over time and is a constant work in progress.  For … [Read more…]

Posted in: Personal Learning, Uncategorized Tagged: Aaron Steffensmeier, Becky Morey, Cooney Kruse, Corner Tap, Corrine Swigart, Elton Kruse, Emmett Kruse, exercise, George Couros, gratitude, Ick Kruse, Iowa Reading League, Isaac Steffensmeier, Jane Santiago, Jenny Herriman, Jenny Steffensmeier, Joe Holtkamp, Katie Dailey, Kirk Wellman, Lisa Williams, Owen Kruse, Papae Wymore, Pomiller Park, power of positive, Rachella Dravis, Ross Haeger, science of reading, Stephanie Edgren, Sue and Reed Haeger, Thanksgiving, The Reading League, Wendy Bailey

Pursuing Perseverance

November 12, 2023 by megankruse

This week has proven to be yet another in which I have found myself in pursuit of perseverance.  As I’ve been writing recently, our district is shifting its instructional coaching model from an invite-only model to a systems coaching model, which means that we no longer wait to be invited into classrooms to support teachers … [Read more…]

Posted in: Assessments and data, Collaborative culture, Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Personal Learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Student learning and the profession, Teacher Leader Model Standards, Uncategorized Tagged: Angie Hanlin, Becky Morey, Corrine Swigart, data, FMCSD, George Couros, instructional coaching, Iowa Reading League, Jane Santiago, Jenny Herriman, Lisa Williams, Martin Luther King, Papae Wymore, perseverance, Rachella Dravis, Stephanie Edgren, Sue Haeger, systems coaching, The Reading League, Wendy Bailey

The Choices that Come with Change

October 16, 2022 by megankruse

I wrote about leaning into routines last week.  At the risk of sounding contradictory, I’ve been thinking about change a lot this week.  George Couros has inspired much of my thinking around change and has been the impetus for my writing past posts about it. You see, change really is inevitable.  Whether we decide to … [Read more…]

Posted in: Assessments and data, Collaborative culture, Facilitating improvements in instruction and student learning, Professional learning for continuous improvement, Student learning and the profession, Uncategorized Tagged: ALL Block, Carmen Ridgway, change, Danyle Warner, Deb Ridgway, Debbie McClurg, el education, flexibility, foundational skills block, George Couros, Jane Santiago, Jennifer LaFrenz, Jenny Herriman, Kim Fullenkamp, Kortney Algrim, Leann Cashman, Lisa Vincent, Mary Hellige, Pomiller Park, predictability, Rachella Dravis, routines, Sarah Bothell, Shana Jannusch
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Recent Posts

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Goodreads

Megan's bookshelf: read

The Flight Attendant
really liked it
The Flight Attendant
by Chris Bohjalian
Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts
really liked it
Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts
by Jennie Allen
Half Broke Horses
it was amazing
Half Broke Horses
by Jeannette Walls
Ground Zero
it was amazing
Ground Zero
by Alan Gratz
The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia
really liked it
The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia
by Emma Copley Eisenberg

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